Good Samaritan killed in hit and run

By Michelle Mondo :
January 7, 2013
: Updated: January 8, 2013 1:02am

A father of five who was thrown from an Interstate 10 ramp after he stopped to help at a minor crash on Saturday has died.

Michael Boozer, 28, was on his way home from his security guard job around 3 a.m. when he stopped at a minor two-car crash on the upper level of the interstate near Loop 410, said Balcones Heights Police Chief Henry Dominguez.

No one was hurt in the first crash, but as Boozer and another driver stood on the shoulder nearby, another vehicle crashed into the cars, then sped off, Dominguez said.

Boozer and the other driver fell from the ramp and landed on the I-10 access road below, a nearly 60-foot fall, the chief said.

The chief urged anyone involved in a crash, especially late at night, to move off the roadway when possible, something that Boozer did. The other cars were believed to still be in the roadway when the second crash happened, Dominguez said.

The other man, whose name wasn't released, remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition, Dominguez said. The driver who caused the second crash could face charges of failure to stop and render aid, he added.

“It hurts so bad,” said Boozer's older brother Jason Lovelady. “I mean, I want to know why. Just come forward. Don't leave us in the dark. Find it in your heart to turn yourself in.”

Boozer was the youngest of five siblings, and the family now is trying to pull together the funds for his funeral on Saturday. His father is dead and his mother is in a nursing home, Lovelady said.

Boozer's four daughters and one son, ranging in age from 3 to 8, are facing life without their dad, who was killed doing what he did best — helping people, his family said.

“He would give you the shirt off his back; just a very caring individual,” said his cousin, La Shon Williams.

A funeral service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at Collins Funeral Home, 6867 Montgomery Drive, his cousin said. Donations for the service can be arranged by calling the funeral home at 210-657-2273.